Airbnb Strikes Back Against Crime, Offers $50,000 Guarantee

Can a financial promise, a new 24-hour hotline and doubled customer support be enough to save Airbnb?

After one criminal

the

, the company was faced with bad press on the news that one woman's home had been ransacked. Then on Sunday another Airbnb user

and told TechCrunch about his horrible ordeal. “This freaked me out when I was frazzled,” he told the publication. “Hundreds of millions in venture financing, millions of dollars in fees, and no 24-hour help desk for emergencies? What am I paying them the exorbitant fees for?” His words must have spread quickly. Airbnb has

a variety of changes and/or additions to the company, including:

While TechCrunch believes that insuring a homeowner's valuables will take the company down a

that could encourage fraud, you have to wonder: what other choice did Airbnb have? The company has been enormously successful thus far. It has the potential to make billions. As risky as this guarantee may be, it could be just what the site needs to prevent newcomers from leaving this concept behind. (Airbnb can, of course, turn around and insure against the prospective insurance fraud.) Sadly, no amount of money can repair the damage that has already been done, nor can it give back the piece of mind to those who have already been victimized.